


Aftermath

by starkillerphase



Category: Choices - Stories you play, Endless Summer (Visual Novel), PlayChoices
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 23:06:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13691730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkillerphase/pseuds/starkillerphase
Summary: The gang goes home. Diego doesn’t.





	Aftermath

They were all gone. Except for him.

After defeating Rourke and his accomplices, after solving all the mysteries of La Huerta, after so many deaths, including his own (thankfully not permanent), they finally found their way home. It was their last and only chance… And Diego didn’t take it. So typical of him, he thought bitterly, staying behind and abandoning his friends, the true heroes. Just like that time with the portal gun. He still had nightmares about its white glow, the feeling of a rope tightly gripping his torso, and, well, all that “let’s capture Diego and give him a full dwarves-in-Mirkwood experience” stuff. Actually, these days he had a lot of nightmares, period. Life as a castaway wasn’t as easy as the Sims made it out to be.

“What are you thinking about?” suddenly asked a very familiar voice from behind him.

Diego involuntarily twitched and quickly turned back to look at the newcomer.

“I’m sorry if I startled you,” continued, somewhat embarassed, the Elyyshar of the Vaanti, who, by addition, was also Diego’s boyfriend (and didn’t that have a nice ring to it). Varyyn’s steps were too quiet for an average person to hear, though at least he usually had the decency to look apologetic after sneaking up on Diego.

Diego smiled and patted the space on the sand nearby.

“It’s alright. Wanna join me?”

Varyyn nodded and cautiously sat down, checking the ground for any sharp or weird objects. One always had to be cautious when dealing with the rich flora and fauna of La Huerta.

Diego turned back to the sea. It was as beautiful as on the first day of his arrival to the island: peaceful blue waves gently caressed the shore with the bright morning sun shining down upon them. Now, however, Diego knew just how dark, huge and deadly these waves could be. So much had happened since that day. So much had changed. And he wasn’t just talking about his haircut (he still wasn’t cool enough for this look).

Finally Varyyn broke the silence.

“Do you not wish to speak?”

Diego sighed.

“Varyyn, if you’re thinking that it’s your fault…” He trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

“But it is!” Varyyn tensed up and turned to Diego. “If I… and you…”

He gave up and switched to Vaanti, too nervous to continue the conversation in English. At least Diego wasn’t the only one who thought that finishing sentences was overrated.

_“If I hadn’t fallen in love with you, none of this would have happened. I… I know shouldn’t have. Before, because no matter how much freedom we gave you, you still were a prisoner of the Vaanti — a fact which I foolishly chose to ignore then and a mistake which I have now come to regret deeply. Then — because, as a Catalyst, you walked a path different from mine. I never considered…”_

_“Well, consider this,”_ snapped Diego. _“It’s not all about you, okay?”_

Varyyn froze.

“I’m… sorry. I didn’t mean to,” said Diego weakly, switching back to English. He put his face in his hands. God, why was everything so difficult? Where was his abuela with her advice and wise words when he needed her? Oh, right, he would probably never see her again thanks to his brilliant life choices. Good job, Diego.

“You don’t need to be sorry, Diego. I know I love you, and I know you feel the same…”

Diego choked, looking up at his boyfriend. There was blunt, and then there was Varyyn.

“But I know that you love your family and friends, and you were ready to leave once… So what has changed? Do you regret your choice? It pains me to see you unhappy. Maybe if I knew your reason for staying, I could help. I want to help.”

Diego sighed. Cue the dramatic monologue, which he desperately hoped to avoid. But Varyyn was looking at him just as desperately, and Diego couldn’t ever say no to these puppy eyes.

“When I was getting ready to leave… Suddenly, at once, I imagined my future life so clearly, like I took Doc Brown’s crash course in driving a time machine. And I’ve always known what I had to do, to, like, succeed at life — get a degree, then a job, maybe travel a bit before settling down. That is what my family would have wanted for me. And then I remembered that my parents would never accept me as I am, and I also was really afraid of going back, because what if the island has changed me too much, and I was so tired of always being the sidekick and never making my own decisions, and also…”

Diego inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes. He felt Varyyn gently squeeze his hand. It was… nice.

“Then I kinda panicked, I guess, and convinced myself and everyone else that staying on La Huerta would be for the best. It didn’t hurt that I also had someone… Someone to stay here for.”

Varyyn’s breath was slow and steady, and his hand still warm against Diego’s. With his luck, right now it was time for a rogue giant crab to appear and ruin the moment.

“So yes, I regret not leaving. I miss my family so much… And my best friend. And wifi. God, how I miss wifi. But at the moment it seemed like the right decision, so the least I can do is own up to it, I guess.”

“Diego…”

“Also I have a strong suspicion that if I had gone back, I would have regretted it just as fast. So it’s a lose-lose situation for me, anyway.”

Diego opened his eyes. Varyyn was looking at him in a way that only Varyyn could, like Diego was the most important thing in the whole world. Diego still waited for Varyyn to realize that he wasn’t that special, really.

“I promise, Diego. I will do anything within my power to turn your situation into a “win-win”. Was this the right expression?..”

Suddenly he smiled. “Let’s start by asking Uqzhaal about these — how did you call them — “time cars.” I’m almost positive he knows something about it.”

“Yeah,” agreed Diego. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

He shuffled closer to Varyyn and put his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. It was like an ending scene of a Disney movie, with the scarlet sunset and dark sea stretching far in front of them, even though Diego was sure it had been sunrise just thirty minutes ago. That was just something one learned to love about La Huerta… That, and some other things, thought Diego, casting his gaze to Varyyn, who, bathed in red sunlight, seemed calm and warm. Seemed like home.


End file.
